US1907104A - Humidifier - Google Patents

Description

May 2, 1933. W 1 HALL 1,907,104

HUMIDIFIER Filed Feb. i9, 195o 2 sheets-sheet' l VYVWVV l i l l i i b May 2, 1933. WY 1l HALL 1,907,104

HUMIDIFIER Filed Feb. 19, 1930 2 Sheets-Shea?. 2

M9 fw@ Patented May 2, 1933 UNITED STATES.

marie WILLIAM JOHN HALL, or TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA'` HUMIDIFIER Application led February `19, 1930, Serial No. 429,785, and in Canada November` 6, 1929.

The principal objects of the invention are to overcome many of the difficulties met with in supplying vapour to the air of living apartments and to provide a device which will operate in all types of furnaces to provide a uniform moisture content in the air of the living apartment. Y

A still further object is to eliminate the danger due to either freezing, flooding or eX- plosion and to pro-vide a device which will be easily installed at moderate cost.

The principal features of the invention consist in the novel construction of a vapourizing member and the construction and arrangement of the means for feeding water to the vapourizer and conducting the vapour therefrom, whereby the vapour is produced by a flash method of dropping small quantities of water upon a heated surface and the vapour is carried from the generator close to the point of production.

In the drawings, Figure l is a sectional elevational view of a furnace -showing my improved humidifying apparatus applied i thereto.

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional detail through the humidifying apparatus.

Figure 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 3 3 of Figure '2.

Figure 4 is a sectional detail of the water feed control taken on the line 4 4 of Figure 3.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, the generator 1 is in the form of a. heavy metal casting here shown of a convergent horizontal section and in vertical section of an inverted LY-shape.

The interior chamber 2 is provided with a curved bottom wall 3 curving upwardly from the well 4 to a substantially horizontal chamber 5 adjacent to the top. A transverse rib 6 projects upwardly from the wall 3 toward its upper end.

A pipe connection 7 is threaded into an opening 8 at the upper end of the vertical wall 9 of the generator and supports the generator within the furnace ire-boX 10.

A casting 11 is secured to the outer' endy of the pipe connection 7 and the bottom wall opening 13 is provided in the casting 11 substantially opposite to the pipe connection 7 and slightly lower than same to which an overiiow pipe 14 is connected. v

A drain plug 15 is arranged in the bottom 55 of the well 12 to allow the casting to be cleaned out.

A threaded opening 16 in the top of the casting 11 has connected thereto the tube- 17 which conducts the vapour upwardly to a 6o suitable discharge member 18 which is preferably arranged in the floor of the apartment above the furnace.

Inthe upper wall of the casting'll there is formed a. chamber 19 which extends partly o5 beneath the opening 16 and the tube 17 and at the forward end of which is secured a small v tube 20, which extends forwardly through the pipe connection 7 and into the vapour chamber 5 of thergenerator.

A small chamber 21 is formed in the casting 11 beside the chamber 19 and an open troughshaped tube 22 is secured therein and eX- tends parallel with the tube 20, the inward end thereof extending beyond the tub 6, so '15 that water dripping from the endwill fall on the curved surface 3 above saidirib.

A cup 23 is secured in the top openingV of the chamber 21. Y

A water feed pipe 24 is here'shown supported by a short closed length of pipe 25 froma boss 26 arranged on one side of the casting 11' and the pipe 24 extending upward- Y ly from the boss supports a valve 27 by means of which the Vflow of water to the vapourizer is regulated. This valve is connected with the feed pipe 24 by the length of pipe 24 and is provided with a threaded valve member 28 within the body which regulates the flow of water from the passage 30 to the portion 31 `which extends over the cup 23.

The pipe 24 is preferably extended downwardly to form a sediment chamber closedby a removable plug 29 at the bottom.

A cup member 32 formed with a centrally vJ5 supported threaded nipple 83 and open at the top is arranged centrally over the cup. The vwater iirst iills the cup then flows over the edge and drips from the tapered point 34.

This arrangement for the drip prevents corrosion of a small hole through which the water moves very slowly, thus ensuring the continuing operation of the device. e

Within the casting 11 is arranged an apronlike partition 37 which extends in front of the overflow connection and is provided with an air hole 38 above its bottom edge. s

The arrangement of the apron .partition 37 and the air hole therethrough preventsv the syphoning of water from the casting 11 and the generator, but the overflow takes care of any excess of water rising above the bottom of the pipe 7.

In the operation of this device the flow of water to the drip-cup is regulated by the operation of the valve member 28.' l The water dripping into the cap 23rcan always be seen so as to determine whether or not it is operating and the water flowing into the cup 23 flows through the trough-shaped tube 22 which is left open in trough form so that it will not corrode or choke and also so that the water will vaporize when the tube gets hot as it sometimes will. The drip of water from the end of the tube 22 falling uponthe casting 11 which is arranged above the fire in the furnace, is immediately vaporized, and the vapour generated in the horizontal chamber 5 finds its way immediately through the tube 2O and chamber 19 to the tube 39 extending upwardly from the chamber 19 within the tube 17. The flow of hot vapour through this tube acts as an inspirator to draw cooler vapour from the remaining body of the generator through the pipe 7 and cast ing 11 up through the tube 17, and at the top of the tube 18 the two streams of'vapour unite and are carried upwardly to a suitable discharge member from whence they are distributed into the apartment.

The device is very simple and compact. It is easy to install. The generator casting is of a heavy metal of a uniform cross-section which will stand the intense heat of the firebox without fracture and it will readily absorb the heat rising from the fire and not only vaporizes the dropping water, but also conducts heat to `water which may be contained in the lower portion thereof.

It will be understood that the fire may be very low during mild weather or may veven be extinguished without the necessity of cutting off the water supply to the vaporizer, and when such condition arises the water fills up the lower portion of the L-shape compartment in the vaporizer and overflows in through the tube 7 into the casting 11 and thn finds its way out through the overflow tu e. Y

Any suitable type of control valve may be employed and the conduction of heat from the casting 11 to the column of water in the supply pipe and consequently to the valve casing will be minimized by the provision of the air seal in the closed length of supporting pipe 25. However it will be understood that it is within the scope of the invention that the conduction of heat from the casting 11 may be utilized to operate and control a thermostatic valve.

The device is inexpensive and is very efficient. Y

It will be readily understood that if the generator 1 is not hot enough to immediately vaporize the water dripping thereon it will spread along the surface of the casting forward of the rib 6 so that its downward descent will be temporarily checked and will be distributed laterally overthe hotter upper portion of the curved wall.

fA device such as described v'will operate successfully with coal fires or oil burners and will maintain a vapour temperature in the apartment above with very light fire.

That l claim as my invention is -V 1. A humidifier, comprising a hollow generator having an upwardly curving wall terminating in a horizontal chamber, a pipe for supporting said generator in a furnace and leading from the top thereof, a casting secured to said pipe having a hollow body provided withV a trapped overflow, a vapour'tube leading upwardly from the topvof said casting, a vapour chamber formed inthe top of the latter casting, a pipe leading into said vapour tube from the latter chamber, a pipe leading from the horizontal vapour chamber of the generator to the vapour chamber in said casting, and means for feeding water into the horizontal vaporizing chamber of the generator.

2. A humidifier in combination with a walled combustion chamber 'comprising Va closed generator chamber having a flash zone therein, a tubular extension projecting through a wall of the combustion chamber, ak vapor tube leading from said generator through said tubular extension, a tube conducting water through said tubular extension into the interior of the generating chamber and terminating above said flash zone, said Vvapour tube and water conducting tube having spaced relation to the inner wall of said tubular conduit leaving an opening therethrough, andV means for supplying a restricted flow of water to said conducting tube, the inner end of said vapour tube terminating in an open end at the flash zone in close proximity to the inner end of said water tube whereby it receives the flash vapour immediately to conduct same outwardly, said tubular extension being adapted to conduct the remaining vaporized or unvaporized wa@ ter from the interior of said generator cha-mber.

3. A humidifier in combination with a walled combustion chamber comprising a closed generator chamber having a flash zone therein, a tubular extension projecting Athrough a wall ofthe combustion chamber,

a vapor tube leading from said generator through said tubular extension, a tube conducting water through said tubular extension into the interior of the generating chamber, means for supplying a regulated How of water to said conducting tube, a vapour conducting tube receiving the vapour from said vapour tube, a main vapour conducting tube into which said vapour-conducting tube discharges its vapour, said main-conducting tube being connected with the generator chamber interior through said tubular ex tension whereby it receives a secondary flow of vapour from the interior of the generator chamber.

4. A humidier, in combination with a combustion chamber, comprising a closed casing mounted therein having an upwardly curving bottom wall facing the combustion zone and presenting a convex inner surface, means for feeding water in drops, conducting means receiving said water drops and extending over the upper region of the convex surface of said upwardly curving wall and depositing the water drops thereon, whereby the deposited water drops will bevdistributed downwardly by gravitational action over the convex surface of said curving wall in extended heat exchange contact, means co-operating with said convex surface for eii'ecting a lateral distribution of the unvaporized portions of said deposited water, and means for conducting the resultant steam or vapour fromthe interior of the casing.

5. A humidifier, in combination with a combustion chamber, comprising a generator casing having an upwardly curved bottom wall facing the combustion zone, said curved bottom wall having a raised transverse rib on the inward side, a conduit extending into said generator and terminating above the upper portion of said curved wall beyond said rib, control means for supplying water to said conduit in a quantity to cause the same to drop from the inner end of said conduit, said transverse rib serving to temporarily check the downward descent of the water not immediately vapourized and to distribute the same laterally, and means for conducting the resultant steam and vapour from said casing.

6. A humidier, comprising a generator chamber having a tubular extension, a vapour tube leading from said generator chamber through said tubular extension, a tube directing water inwardly through said tubular extension to said generating chamber, a water supply, a valve connectedwith said water supply, a cup member mounted below said valve and having a closed bottom, a nozzle receiving water from said valve, said nozzle projecting into said cup and discharging the received water thereinto adjacent the bottom of the cup, said cup being adapted to discharge the received water therefrom over the edge thereof, and a second cup mounted below the aforesaid cup and receiv ing the overflow therefrom, said second cup being connected at the bottom with said water Il OO Cil Tic

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